By Peter Baker and Michael D. Shear
In his last hours in office, President Joe Biden issued a series of preemptive pardons on Monday aimed at protecting his family and other prominent individuals from anticipated “retribution” from incoming president Donald Trump.
In a stunning measure, Biden pardoned five relatives, including his brothers James and Francis Biden, along with others who might be targeted by Trump such as Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and former Rep. Liz Cheney, in a bid to prevent political prosecutions.
“I have faith in our legal framework, and I am hopeful that its integrity will triumph over political maneuvering,” Biden stated. “However, these circumstances are extraordinary, and I cannot stand by idly. Unfounded and politically driven inquiries can devastate the lives and financial stability of those being targeted and their families.”
“Even if individuals have committed no misdeeds — and in fact have acted correctly — the very existence of an investigation or prosecution can cause irreversible harm to their reputations and finances,” he added.
Alongside his brothers, his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, and her spouse, John T. Owens, were also pardoned, as well as Sara Jones Biden, the spouse of James Biden. He also pardoned all members of the bipartisan House committee that looked into the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot committed by Trump supporters, along with their staff and the officers who provided testimony during their investigation.
By issuing these preemptive pardons, Biden effectively transformed the constitutional power of the presidency to grant clemency into a defense against what he argued would be politically-driven retaliation. No other president has utilized executive clemency so broadly and transparently to counter a successor he feels would misuse his authority, and no predecessor, including Trump, has pardoned such a number of family members.
The White House publicized the family pardons with under 20 minutes remaining in Biden’s presidency, shortly after he entered the Capitol Rotunda to witness Trump’s inauguration. These pardons marked a notable conclusion to Biden’s lengthy political journey, reflecting the deep-rooted mistrust and anger he harbors toward Trump, who preceded him in office and will follow.
“Innocent individuals are being pardoned in the morning, while those truly guilty are being pardoned in the afternoon,” remarked Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., a Jan. 6 committee member, in an interview. “It is unusual to receive a pardon for simply performing your duties and adhering to your constitutional commitments. Yet, the forthcoming administration has continually issued threats.”
Biden asserted that the pardons were not issued based on any actual crimes committed by the recipients. “The granting of these pardons should not be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be viewed as an acknowledgment of guilt,” he elaborated.
Trump reacted with anger during comments made to legislators at a Capitol Hill luncheon, accusing Biden of providing “pardons to people who were very, very culpable of severe crimes, like the unselect committee of political thugs,” referencing individuals from the Jan. 6 committee, including Cheney.
He labeled Cheney a “crying lunatic” and questioned, “Why are we extending help to someone like Milley?”
During his campaign last year, Trump threatened to bring prosecutions against Democrats, election officials, law enforcement, intelligence operatives, journalists, former aides, and Republicans who did not align with him, frequently without specifying any particular criminal activities.
Trump has indicated he would “appoint a genuine special prosecutor to pursue” Biden and his family. Previously, Biden had issued a pardon to his son Hunter encompassing any potential crimes over an 11-year span. The president did not include himself in the preemptive pardons announced on Monday, but he could potentially rely on the immunity granted by the Supreme Court to presidents in a case brought by Trump regarding prosecution avoidance.
Trump has asserted on social media that Cheney, R-Wyo., who played a significant role in leading the Jan. 6 committee, “should be prosecuted for what she has done to our country,” and claimed that the entirety of the committee “should face prosecution for their deceit and, frankly, TREASON!” He has intimated that Milley, Trump’s selection as chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, deserved death for warning a Chinese counterpart against exploiting the crisis in Washington post-January 6.
Dr. Fauci, who dedicated half a century to public service and held the position of the nation’s leading infectious disease authority for 38 years under presidents from Ronald Reagan through Biden, faced criticism from Trump’s extreme-right supporters regarding his management of the coronavirus outbreak. Steve Bannon, Trump’s former strategist, has remarked that Fauci, Milley, and others merit prosecution. “You deserve what we term rough Roman justice, and we’re ready to deliver it,” Bannon declared on election night.
Recently, some individuals included in the pardons had expressed their reluctance to receive them, like former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., both of whom were members of the Jan. 6 committee alongside Cheney.
“Once you accept a pardon, it appears as though you have done something wrong,” Kinzinger stated on CNN this month. Schiff mentioned in a separate CNN interview that it could establish a troubling precedent, stating, “I don’t want to see future presidents, as they exit, granting broad pardons to members of their administration.”
However, since the pardon for committee members was granted to a category of individuals rather than specified people, it did not necessitate acceptance from the recipients. The committee members released a statement on behalf of their chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., expressing gratitude to Biden. “We have received pardons today not for breaking laws but for upholding them,” Thompson asserted.
Other Jan. 6 committee members covered by Biden’s pardon include Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Pete Aguilar of California and former Reps. Stephanie Murphy of Florida and Elaine Luria of Virginia, all of whom are Democrats.
Michael Fanone, one of the police officers protected by the pardon, stated he did not wish for a pardon and had no communication with anyone from the White House about it, expressing frustration and disappointment that Biden felt the need to extend clemency to him.
Fanone, who fought physically with rioters on January 6, remarked that it is “insane that we live in a country where the president of the United States feels compelled to offer a preemptive pardon to American citizens who provided testimony during an inquiry into an insurrection incited by the incoming president, who has vowed to carry out vengeance on those involved and the investigative body.”
Lawyers representing Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonnell, two officers vocal about the January 6 assault, stated that the pardons for them “were never solicited, nor was there any discussion with the White House.”
Their attorneys, Mark S. Zaid and David H. Laufman, deemed it “disturbing” that the “ongoing threats and assaults from the radical right, coupled with the revision of the truth surrounding that day’s occurrences, sadly justifies this decision.”
